NFL Scouting Combine Includes New Player Assessment

Test to help determine if players will mesh with certain coaching styles

The 2013 NFL Scouting Combine is upon us and with it, comes an additional test that pro prospects will complete, during their most important job interview to date.

In addition to running the 40-yard dash as fast as possible, or bench pressing 225 pounds as many times as they can, the players will complete a new aptitude test, designed to examine their motivations, learning styles and more.

Despite being administered the same way, in a classroom setting, this test is different from the traditional 12-minute Wonderlic Test, which is given to gauge the player’s intelligence.

The new NFL Player Assessment Test is a 60-minute exam, intended to provide an inclusive look at a player's "non-physical capabilities, aptitudes and strengths," according to an NFL memo obtained by NFL.com's Steve Wyche.

Washington attorney Cyrus Mehri and Harold Goldstein, an associate professor of industrial/organizational psychology at Baruch College, The City University of New York, developed the new test for the league.

"We're trying to capture different ways people are smart," Mehri said.

"This new test measures a wide range of competencies, including learning styles, motivation, decision-making skills, responding to pressure or unexpected stimuli, and core intellect. It was developed after detailed discussions with current and former league executives, including Ernie Accorsi, Thomas Dimitroff, John Elway, and Jerry Reese, and was reviewed by members of the general managers Advisory Committee. By giving clubs new and more relevant information, it offers additional information to supplement your decision-making in the draft. One of the most interesting aspects is that new information on player learning styles can potentially help our coaches' work more effectively with young players."

In order to protect confidentiality, once the test is completed, the results will be shared with "one or two" executives from each of the 32 NFL teams and include one page of “coaching points,” which will help teams evaluate players and determine whether they'll mesh with certain coaching styles, Mehri said.

I’ll continue to follow this story and inform you of anything our general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid may say about the test, inlcuding how it may play into their evaluation process, before April’s draft.